


Running from the Past, Tripping on the Now

by sanssssastark



Series: Later [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: AU - The Boys Are Alive, F/M, Feelings Realization, Luke is a Soft Boi, Mutual Pining, also Luke has a motorcycle, and yes the UST gets resolved, bobby gets what's coming to him, flynn is the best wing woman, julie molina is a bamf, there's a lot of UST here and I'm not sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27455920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanssssastark/pseuds/sanssssastark
Summary: Writing with him, singing with him, it’s amazing and terrifying and excruciating and perfect. That’s how it’s been every night for weeks, huddled together in the studio, pushing and pulling against each other, carving out bits of themselves and pouring them into every verse and melody, bleeding the notes out onto the page until they collapse gasping for air like they’d just run a marathon.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: Later [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016440
Comments: 222
Kudos: 696
Collections: JATP Appreciation Week





	1. Running from the Past

**Author's Note:**

> I am SUPER late with a contribution of JATP Appreciation Week, so I'm combining a couple of the prompts into what will probably be a two-parter (though I've definitely written fics where I've said that and they turned out...way longer, so it'll probably depend on the response and how I'm feeling about it, so if you want more, SAY SO!!) Here we have an AU where the boys are alive and well focusing on my favorite JATP ship, JUKE! The boys just a year older than Julie and things are getting a little intense between her and Luke, the same way they do in the show, but without the specter of Luke's non-corporeal form hanging over their potential relationship. We pick up just after Ray has told Julie about the "gig" he booked at the house and I hope you enjoy this! If you do, please leave a comment and kudos!

Half listening to the announcements crackling through the hallway loudspeakers between periods, Julie reaches into her locker and grabs the black dress she steamed late last night. After a songwriting session with Luke in the studio, she’d stumbled up to bed exhausted and had almost fallen right into bed when she saw the wrinkled rolled up ball of black fabric on top of her comforter. It reminded her that today was her dance class performance with Nick. 

Nick, the guy she’s been crushing on for years and really, she should be focusing on that. It should be the biggest thing ever. If she could go back in time and tell Julie from two months ago that she was dancing with Nick today, that he and Carrie broke up, and that they’re actually sort of forming a friendship, she never would have believed it. It would have meant the universe was finally bringing something good into her life after a whole year of total crap.

Except…that was two months ago, before the guys invited her to join Sunset Curve and not to be completely dramatic, but before they changed her life.

Out of nowhere Luke showed up at her door one day, a total ambush. He told her their rhythm guitarist, Carrie’s older brother Bobby, had ditched them to front his own band, that Mrs. Harrison said she was the best pianist in the school and he’d always wanted to add piano to their sound. Since Sunset Curve was the most epic band in the world, he only wanted the best. When he saw her hesitation, he insisted she wouldn’t even have to sing if she didn’t want to—because even someone as oblivious as Luke could be knew she hadn’t sung a word in a year—so she said yes, But the real miracle happened after, somewhere between helping her keep her spot in the music program and performing at a packed house in front of really important people, they’d managed to bust down the walls she’d built around music in her heart after her mom died. 

Now, they’re her best friends—except for Flynn, obviously.

How is that possible? 

She’d gone to school with them since seventh grade, but since they were a year ahead of her, she never really knew them until now. 

Julie can barely remember a time before they were in her life, before they brought her back to life. And really...as much as she loves Alex and Reggie...really it’s Luke who did it. Writing with him, singing with him, it’s...amazing and terrifying and excruciating and...perfect.

That’s how it’s been every night for weeks, huddled together in the studio, pushing and pulling against each other, carving out bits of themselves and pouring them into every verse and melody, bleeding the notes out onto the page until they collapse gasping for air like they’d just run a marathon. That happened last night too, his arms flung out over the back of the couch, her head resting in the warm crook of his elbow while his hand idly twisted one of her curls around his finger, reading the music over one last time, agreeing that the song is finally done and ready to be added to their book. 

They almost have enough for a full set, though they probably need a ballad somewhere in there, the songs are strong, especially the one they finally finished last night. It’s a serious anthem and when they finished the arrangement it felt like their styles had truly meshed, highlighting both their combined vocals and the mad skills they all brought to their instruments.

“Just a friendly reminder, tickets are still available for marching band practice this weekend…” the hall announcement draws her back to the present. She has to get to class. She’s going to put on this dress and dance with Nick and not think about...anything else.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she closes her locker door and immediately jumps backward.

“Hey,” Luke says, propped up against the wall right beside her.

“Gah!” Her heart flips at the small grin he’s wearing which she chalks up to the tiny scare and not...anything else. “Normal people don’t do that,” she scolds gently.

Luke pushes off from the row of lockers, looking down at her seriously, all traces of the grin gone. “We need to talk about what song we’re gonna play tonight. I was thinking, Great.” 

“Hey Luke, what’s up?” a girl Julie recognizes as a senior says with a giggle as she walks past with a friend. 

Completely oblivious to the attention, Luke just keeps looking at her, waiting for an answer. Julie sends the older girls a tight grin, almost like an apology, though she doesn’t actually know what she’s apologizing for, exactly. It’s not her fault Luke is the most single minded person she’s ever met. The girl doesn’t seem to accept the apology though and sends her a glare before disappearing down the hallway.

“Jules?” Luke asks, rocking back and forth from his heels to toes, bouncing a bit like he always does. He can never seem to sit still...unless they’re writing. He’s so incredibly talented, Julie likes to imagine that when he’s not writing or playing, the natural born ability he possesses vibrates up against his skin, making him fidget against it until he can focus that energy toward a song.

“Yeah, no, sorry. I think Great is a….great choice,” she says, tilting her head a bit in frustration at the pun she didn’t realize she was making until she was saying it. 

“Sweet, well that’s pretty much just what I wanted to talk to you about, so…” 

He’s doing it again, rocking and bouncing on his toes. Anyone else and she’d be grabbing them by their arms to stop constant motion, but with Luke it’s...adorable and wow, she is in so much trouble.

“Oh,” she says, trying to keep the small disappointment out of her voice. It’s difficult sometimes because they have this intense connection and when they’re writing or performing it sparks to life and quickly becomes a massive bonfire, but other times it’s like there’s this sort of gap, an empty space in a jigsaw puzzle without a piece to fill it. 

“Actually, no,” he says, breaking their eye contact and...he’s smiling, which just adds to the adorable and she has to fight with everything in her to not match his smile with one of her own. “There is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.” And he’s bouncing again and the smile is gone. His hand comes up to rub lightly at the back of his neck. Is he nervous? She can’t really tell because then it’s just his eyes, soft and serious looking into hers. “It’s, look I know I’m not the easiest person to work with, but I wanted to tell you that, I think you make me a better writer.”

The puzzle piece clicks into place. Oh. Wow.

“I think we make each other better,” she says, quietly, not letting her gaze waver at all and something warms in his eyes. This is beyond trouble. Her throat goes a little dry and she has to bite her bottom lip to keep something incredibly stupid from spilling out of her mouth or using it for something way more exciting than just words.

“You know what?” he asks, taking a small step toward her and leaning closer. “Why don’t we just ditch school today? Let’s go rehearse.” 

That snaps her out of it, bit. There’s no way she can do that. Not after how easy her dad went on her for missing class and sneaking out for that gig. And she’s been pushing it with how late the guys have been staying every night. She can’t ditch now. “What? No. No. I promised Dad, school first.” 

“Right, you’re at school first and now you’re leaving to go….rehearse.” And now she's in a little less trouble because he’s turning on the charm on purpose. She hopes he never figures out that she’s way more susceptible to his natural charisma and less so to whatever this is. 

Not that whatever this is isn’t pretty effective too. His pleading eyes are wide and his bottom lip stuck out just a bit in a pout that she knows that senior girl who walked past them just a minute ago would die to kiss away. Not that Julie blames her at all. Then he goes in for the kill and even though she knows he’s deliberately trying to...seduce...no...persuade her to duck out a side door, and do nothing more than run through Edge of Great until their voices are hoarse, she feels herself caving. “C’mon, I can’t do this with you.” 

A soft wave of heat slides over her skin and it’s too much. She has to look away from him. “I can’t. I told Nick I’d be his dance partner.” Over Luke’s shoulder she sees a rescue from the tempting pull away from where she should be and toward where she desperately wants to go, “and he’s heading this way.”

“Hey Julie...Luke,” Nick says, walking up to them with a bright smile, already dressed for their performance in a black collared shirt and nicely pressed black dress pants.

“Well, don’t you look sharp,” Luke says and if you didn’t know him as well as Julie does, you would never know he was being a complete dick. Nick definitely doesn’t notice.

“Thanks, man,” Nick says, but then turns back to her. “Ready for our big performance?” 

Julie smiles at him, ignoring how Luke takes a quick step back where Nick can’t see him and is kind of glaring at the blond boy. “We’re gonna do great.”

“I’m glad you’re confident. Ever after three classes, I still think I got worse. It’s a good thing I’ve got my secret weapon.”

Julie grins, but Luke’s furrowed brow is what draws her attention and when he realizes she’s looking at him, he rolls his eyes dramatically. She glares at him and mumbles, “Shut up.” 

Nick’s face falls and she shakes her head, quick to reassure him. “I mean, shut up,” she says, reaching out and nudging his shoulder gently, which makes him shift back and bump into Luke who was still making a face and hovering a little too close.

“Oh, sorry, man,” Nick says, congenially. That was a vocab word in English the other day and it fits Nick so perfectly it hurts. He’s congenial...perfectly congenial and...not anything else, “But, no, seriously, Molina. I’m nothing without you.” 

Julie from two months ago would have swooned. Now? It’s just...awkward and she glances at Luke quickly who is grinning at her like he knows something she doesn’t, which if she’s being honest is super rare. They’ve been on the same wavelength for weeks now, even when they want to tear each other’s hair out over a chord progression or piano arrangement. 

“No, no,” she says, shaking her head, trying to get her focus back, and looking at Nick who is still smiling at her so pleasantly that she actually feels bad. “You’re gonna do fine. See you in there?”

“I’ll be the guy trying to make us not look stupid.” Nick laughs and she’s able to return it, at least well enough for him to seem satisfied, which is a problem because Luke can clearly see right through it. “Later man,” he says to Luke and then goes. 

They both watch him down the hallway and then Luke turns back to her. “Well, he is just too cute. Looks like someone has a crush on Julie.”

“What?” Julie asks, and it’s like finding another puzzle piece, when you thought the puzzle was finished. “He...doesn’t…”

“He definitely does,” Luke says, grinning at her, but there’s something different in his eyes. “Anyway, you sure you don’t want to get out of here and rehearse?”

She hesitates, biting her lip again and for a split second she swears his eyes follow the motion and it all clicks into place, the puzzle _actually_ finished this time.

He’s jealous. 

Oh, she is in so much trouble.

“Want to?” she finally asks, making sure to hold his eyes with hers. “Yes, I want to, but I promised Dad and ditching Nick is unfair. Meet me right after school? We can run through it a bunch before we have to set up for the party.”

Luke nods, but doesn’t drop the eye contact and Julie uses every ounce of restraint left in her not to step forward and...and...she doesn’t know what she might do, so she finally looks away.

“I’ll see you after school,” she says, firmly, sure she made the right choice, but hating every second of it. Stepping around him, she doesn’t wait for an answer. She’s only a few feet away when it comes

“Guess we’ll just have to carry you tonight. Just like we always do,” he calls out, but she can hear the laughter in his voice and a smile slides over her face as she tightens her hold on the dress. Crap, it’s probably a wrinkled mess again. She’s been clutching it hard to keep her hands from doing the same stupid thing her mouth wants to do. 

“I know you’re smiling,” Luke totally calls her out and there’s no way she can blame anything else on how her heart flips now. “Kill it on the dance floor!” 

She just barely makes it out into the gym as the bell rings and finds Nick waiting for her near half court. 

“Hey,” he says, “you ready?’

“Yeah, we got this,” she says, but focuses on their teachers in front of them, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored walls. She likes how the dress fits, but she’s glad she wore shorts underneath. The amount of spinning in their choreo would have her flashing the whole class like three seconds into the routine.

“Boys,” Coach says, “I want you to focus and leave it all out on the field.”

The entire class is silent and Mrs. Kelly shakes her head. “You’re losing ‘em, Frank.”

“No, I got ‘em,” Coach says and Julie wonders how the lacrosse team wins any games at all. 

Mrs. Kelly faces them. “Breathe in. Shake out your nerves. Surrender to the music and to your partner. Here we go.” 

They follow her instructions and then Nick turns to her, looking lost as he stumbles over his words. “I...I don’t remember anything about surrendering.” 

“You’ll be fine, Luke.” 

He frowns “It’s Nick, actually.”

“Right, Nick! Sorry. I was just...talking to Luke out in the hall, sorry, my brain wandered a bit, but it wandered back and now I’m ready to kill it.”

“Five, six, seven, eight,” Mrs. Kelly counts them in as the music starts.

The steps are simple and Nick, despite his protests, has gotten better in the last couple of days, but there’s something just...wrong about this. She spins toward him and when his arms come around her, they aren’t the right shape and breadth, they don’t surround her and the space at his elbow, that supposed to cradle her head feels sharp and cool against her cheek, the material of his shirt a little scratchy instead of warm and solid and when she spins out again it isn’t big, bright hazel eyes she meets, but sweet blue ones that don’t hold hers, but are clearly just trying to focus on counting the beats of the music and not fall down. His hand is the same size as hers and there’s just nothing there when he holds it. Just two hands together. Not...anything else. Like two discordant notes, sure you can play them together, but it doesn’t sound great. Not like when Luke finally got up from the couch last night to go home and held out his hand to help her up. When their palms slid together and their fingers entwined, his larger and totally overtaking hers, she’d felt a jolt of heat from the tips of her fingers all the way to her toes. Like when you hit a perfect harmony. 

As they dance, that phrase tumbles over and over again in her head. Perfect harmony. Lyrics come to her out of nowhere, a few words linked together with a soft, easy melody. 

_Truth is finally breaking through._

_Two worlds collide when I’m with you._

_Our voices rise and soar so high._

_We come to life when we’re_

_In perfect harmony_

Nick lifts her up into the air, his hands on her waist and her mind flashes back to a rehearsal a couple of weeks ago. She was bent over the side of piano, scribbling away on the music they’d written for Finally Free, just before their gig at Eats and Beats and Luke had come up behind her, reaching out to the music indicating where he wanted a key change and she’d tensed up, frozen solid when his free hand landed on her waist, his chin propped on her shoulder to see the music. It had only taken one gentle twitch of his fingers against the fabric of her t-shirt for her to relax into him and carefully change the notes they’d agreed on. He’d pulled away only seconds later. Two whole weeks later and she could still feel the phantom touch of his calluses catching against the cotton of her shirt. He’d shot her a wink from across the studio when she’d wheeled around instinctively at his sudden absence. That push and pull, it was like a game, where they pretend they’re one thing even though they both know they’re not.

Another lyric slides through her mind.

_We say we’re friends_

_We play pretend_

_You’re more to me_

_We’re everything_

She can already hear them splitting that verse, singing it to each other, leaning into the same microphone, his breath on her face, his eyes holding hers, his hand on her waist again drawing her closer.

And then the music around her fades and she’s mouthing the last words of the song suddenly rattling around in her head, _we create the perfect harmony._ She spins one last time, Nick’s hands catching her’s, as she stops.

“Wow, we nailed that. Thanks, partner!” Nick’s excited and he should be, she should be too. They did nail that, but her hands are still in his and despite the calluses on his fingertips from the guitar, it’s not...not quite right. They’re tapered and thin, strong, but not...not Luke’s.

“Yeah…um…” she says, pulling away, trying to get her mind to focus, but it’s impossible. “That was great. I gotta get going.” 

Julie ducks away and heads out of the gym. She needs to go, get out of there and get to a piano, figure out the melody in her head, get the lyrics down on paper so she can show Luke...or maybe not, maybe she’ll keep this one to herself for a minute. It would be a confession and as single minded and clueless as he can be sometimes, there’s no way he wouldn’t know right away.

Oh, she’s in so much trouble.


	2. Tripping on the Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s that one line that she can’t get out of her head.
> 
> We say we’re friends, we play pretend.
> 
> Those puzzle pieces from earlier that she was trying to put together, that’s what they spell out. She knows it, maybe more than she’s ever known anything, deep in her heart, that’s what she and Luke have been doing. Pretending, for weeks. Months, actually. It’s been two months. That connection has been there from the beginning and only been growing ever since.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's definitely going to be more than two chapters. I have no idea how many. At least one more to get this where I wanted it to go originally, but who knows, things keep coming to me, it could go on for a bit. It's still a bunch of fluff, but I had such a great time writing it and I hope you enjoy it! If you don't, don't forget to leave kudos and a comment! I'm such a feedback whore, the more I get, the faster I write!

She doesn’t even change back into the clothes she wore to school today, just grabs her bag and flees the locker room before the rest of the girls even leave the gym. She can change later, the music in her head is more important. Julie has lunch this period, but there aren’t any classes scheduled in the music room right now and she needs a piano way more than she needs her peanut butter and jelly. 

It’s that one line that she can’t get out of her head.

_We say we’re friends, we play pretend._

Those puzzle pieces from earlier that she was trying to put together, that’s what they spell out. She knows it, maybe more than she’s ever known anything, deep in her heart, that’s what she and Luke have been doing. Pretending, for weeks. Months, actually. It’s been two months. That connection has been there from the beginning and only been growing ever since.

Except this is Luke Patterson. Guys like Luke Patterson do not date girls like Julie Molina. 

No, that’s not true. 

Luke doesn’t _date_ anyone really. He's hooked up with a few girls here and there, but he definitely hasn't had a serious girlfriend in all the time she's known him and even before that.

This isn’t like a self confidence thing. Julie knows she can get it. Theoretically speaking, obviously. But this is different. Luke is different. It wouldn’t just be like having a high school boyfriend. They have dreams, big ones, long term ones and feeling this way about him, about each other, might ruin everything. 

She puts it out of her mind, pulling her notebook out of her bag and opening up Mrs. Harrison’s piano. She has to get this down or it’ll fly out of her head and it’s too good. They need a ballad and...maybe once she works up the courage she can show it to Luke and the guys. They won’t _necessarily_ know it’s about him, right? 

Ugh, of course they’ll know. It’s so obvious. Who else would it be about? She only really hangs out with them and Flynn. Maybe they’d believe it was about like, Harry Styles or something? Like a fantasy, instead of reality. Julie’s not sure if that’s better or worse.

It probably doesn’t matter though. The song is something they need. She’s gonna call it Perfect Harmony and it’s going to be the thing that makes their first EP complete. They’re going to record it and sign with a manager and then a label and then tour and do all the things they said they were going to do after that first performance together. She can feel it, deep in her bones.

Time slips away as the notes start to pour out onto the page and she plays around with the basic melody. She’ll have to bring the guys in on it to get the rest of the arrangement right, but glancing down at the nearly completed song, she knows it’s still missing something and that something is definitely Luke. She needs a verse to start it off and nothing she’s come up with has worked quite yet. He’ll know though. He always does.

“There you are!” Flynn says, flying into the room, breaking through Julie’s songwriting haze. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Why’d you run out of dance class so fast?” 

“Sorry, I just needed some air. It was a little intense in there.” 

“Oh, I noticed.” Flynn’s smile could light the entire city. “Dancing with a guy you’ve had a crush on forever will do that to a girl.” 

“Yeah,” Julie says, fidgeting with the bracelets on her wrist, finally ready to confess, knowing that Flynn is going to give her so much shit, “but the whole time we were dancing, I was thinking about Luke.” 

“Seriously? Called it,” Flynn says with a laugh that feels way too light and breezy and completely lacking any judgement at all.

“Wait, that’s it?” Julie asks, her brow furrowing. There should be like, gloating and then a very stern lecture about not dating bandmates.

“Yeah, what did you think I was going to say?” Flynn shrugs, clearly unfazed. 

Groaning, Julie fires back. “That this is really stupid of me and that I could potentially destroy the best thing in my life right now for a pair of hazel eyes and biceps.”

Flynn tilts her head in confusion before shaking her head. “But that’s not...you really like Luke. The biceps are just...a bonus. A really nice bonus. Boy is ripped.” 

“That’s what makes it worse. It’s not even about that,” Julie says, her shoulders deflating. “I do really like him and now I think Nick likes me. _Nick_!” 

“He totally does,” Flynn confirms and Flynn is always right about stuff like that.

“What am I even supposed to do with that? Two months ago I would have _died_ for him to even notice me.”

“And think about Carrie finding out. Her head would have exploded. They would have been scraping demon brains off the walls for days.”

They giggle, almost hysterically, at that for a second. Their former best friend definitely would not have been cool with Julie and Nick being a thing, not that Carrie should have anything to say about it. Julie liked him first, back when they were still friends and that didn’t stop the lead singer of Dirty Candy from going after him, even before their friendship imploded. Not that it matters, at all. Julie doesn’t want Nick. And that’s the thought that makes everything very simple.

“But me and Luke just clicked, you know? And he’s so…” she trails off, knowing she’s totally giving off heart eyes, but if there’s anyone she’s going to let her guard down in front of, it’s Flynn. She’s never felt like this about anyone before. Definitely not Nick. It’s a big deal, a really big deal.

“Intense, obsessive, mercurial?” Flynn suggests.

“Oh, good word,” Julie says, only slightly distracted. Mercurial is something she can use in a song one day for sure. Mercurial boy...not a congenial one. Her mind starts to play around with it, but then Flynn pulls her back.

“Thank you, but seriously, you two make beautiful music together, literally, why would that be any different if you were to, you know, _make beautiful music together_.” 

“Maybe I’m just scared,” she admits. It’s not a maybe. She’s definitely scared.

Flynn’s eyes are completely understanding. “Totally fair, but also, of what? That boy is completely in love with you.” 

“But he hasn’t said _anything_. Luke never has a problem saying anything that pops into his head. I don’t get why this would be different.”

“Of course it’s different. He’s a boy. He probably doesn’t even know what he’s feeling. But, c’mon, Julie. He invited you to be in his band, the most important thing in his entire world, and he spends most nights in your garage writing music until you both pass out. He looks at you like you’re the only oxygen left on Earth when you perform together. I haven’t even seen him glance at another girl in months and believe me, I’ve been watching.”

“That’s different,” she protests, but it sounds weak to even her ears. “Luke would do that with anyone he thought was talented. It’s not about…”

Flynn shakes her head. “He doesn’t do it with Reggie and Alex. His best friends since seventh grade. And the only other thing he looks at the way he looks at you is his guitar, which frankly, makes me question your taste in boys, but if he makes you happy….” she trails off.

“I think...he does and I think that’s what scares me the most. I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what I’m doing. We were in the hallway before dance class before and I _swear_ he was jealous of Nick talking to me and he’s never been like that before, but maybe he wasn’t, maybe he was just being a dick because Nick’s the reason I couldn’t blow off school today an rehearse for tonight and I just don’t…”

“Whoa, whoa,” Flynn cuts in and holds up a hand. “Stop right there. He was jealous of Nick?”

“Yeah, I think so. He was being you know, Luke,” Julie waves a hand in the air and Flynn nods in understanding. She’s been around Luke long enough now to know his moods.

“Okay, so, here’s what we’re gonna do. Send Nick a nice little friendly text asking him to come to the party tonight.” 

“Wait, what? Why? I just told you...”

“That having Nick around makes Luke jealous and you said you’re not feeling good about telling him first, so maybe that’s the nudge he needs?”

“I don’t know,” Julie says, “Nick’s nice and that feels…”

“Oops, too late, already sent it,” Flynn says, holding up her phone to her.

“Um, I usually don’t use that many smiley faces.” 

“You do now and trust me. Tonight you’re performing with Luke, so the key is letting him see how you feel about his big, beautiful eyes. Do your eye contact thing and let the rest take care of itself.” 

“You’re very pushy today.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

The rest of the school day drags and Julie spends most of her last two class periods figuring out the correct butterfly clip ratio for her hair and outfit tonight. She really wants to play it up a bit. Reggie is always ragging on her about her girly style, butterflies and glitter and all that stuff, so why not just go for it? 

It’s easier to think about the butterfly clips in her mom’s trunk, filled with clothes she wore back in the day to perform her music than it is...anything else. Which is saying something. Dr. Turner would be super proud.

Nick texted her back last period, letting her know he’d be there tonight, but she doesn’t know what to do with that, so she sends a thumbs up emoji. Just one, unlike the full screen of smilies Flynn sent earlier. It still doesn’t feel right, but she can rationalize it in her head, maybe if he sees her perform with Luke he’ll get the picture and that’ll save her from having to have an _extremely_ awkward conversation eventually.

How do you tell the guy you’ve liked for years that he missed his chance? Ugh. No thanks.

The bell finally rings and she gathers her stuff quickly. She wants to get home as fast as possible. She needs to shower and wash her hair, then rehearse with the guys and help get the driveway and garage ready for the cameras. 

Flynn meets her near the door and they walk together toward their buses. 

“I’ll come over early, okay?” Flynn says, before they have to part ways. “I made paper flowers that can spell out Sunset Curve on the garage doors for before and after the performance.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know,” she says, flicking a braid back over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later!”

Julie blinks at her, because Flynn’s last words were drowned out by a rumbling noise echoing out even over the bus engines idling in the parking lot. Turning toward the sound, she sees Luke pulling up to the edge of the lot, on the street, before he pushes his helmet up to the top of his head and then waves to her over. 

Tilting her head, she glances toward the buses. Flynn’s already disappeared onto hers. If she doesn’t go now, she’s going to miss it and it’s a long walk home, but when she turns back to him his mouth is in a firm line and he looks serious. Maybe he needs to talk to her about something important? 

Yeah, that’s a good excuse.

Jogging over, she raises her eyebrows as he tries to say something that’s impossible to hear over his engine. The motorcycle is old, but looks like he takes pretty good care of it, the chrome is dull, but super clean and the leather of the seat is shiny from lots of oiling. Not that she’s spent a lot of time thinking about his motorcycle, it’s just...something a lot of the girls at school talk about. After she joined the band, Luke became pretty much the number one thing the other girls brought up around her, like she might have the secret to his psyche or whatever. Unfortunately for them, she’s as clueless as they are or at least she thought she was.

He doesn’t cut the engine as she reaches him, just holds out his hand, which has an extra helmet in it, how had she missed that? There is no way she should get on the bike. Her dad would _kill_ her, but...it’s not like he told her she couldn’t...mostly because he doesn’t know it exists. 

She looks from the helmet to Luke’s eyes and he just stares back, a corner of his mouth rising, clearly knowing that he has her. 

It would be so much faster than taking the bus and give them extra time to get a few more reps in before she has to get ready.

Taking a deep breath, she holds out her bag and he takes it without a word, while she puts the helmet on her head, takes her bag back, slings it securely onto her shoulders and then bites her lip. This is crazy. Glancing behind her, there’s a bunch of people just flat out staring at them instead of heading to their buses or toward the sidewalk. A couple of people are even taking pictures with their phones.

This is such a bad idea, but she got this far, might as well follow through. 

When she looks back to Luke he’s grinning at her broadly and then ducks his head while she narrows her eyes. Then without any more hesitation, she steps up to the bike and throws her leg over the machine, finding just enough room to slide in behind him. Her feet find the bars to rest against easily enough and as she settles into the seat and for a second, his body tenses. That’s...interesting. It only lasts for a second though as he relaxes, his back now fully leaning into her chest. Luke’s hand finds hers and pulls it around him, a clear instruction to hang on. Her other arm follows, snaking around his torso and landing on his chest, clutching against the thick material of his hoodie. He pats her hand where it’s over his sternum before he lifts his feet and they rumble down the street at a measured pace, not the way she normally sees him speed away from school. Still, her heart is racing and the wind whipping against her face is a total rush. Though it’s not even close to the feeling of being pressed against his back, wrapped around him, because he wants her there. 

Forget trouble. She’s completely gone. Total surrender. 

Julie turns her head, resting her cheek in the spot between his shoulder blades and tightens her arms around him, every worry that she’d obsessed over since she got to school today suddenly and completely poofs out of her mind.

  
  



	3. More Than Chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She pulls in a breath as he looks up from the mass of scribbles on the page and a wave of recognition slides over his face. He swallows roughly, Adam’s apple bobbing as his eyes flick down to her mouth and then back to her eyes and it would be so easy for her to just lean in. She can see he wants her to, he’s hesitating, but the grip on her thigh has tightened and all it would take is a quick shift of his weight for her to be on her back with him hovering over her on this ratty old couch. Julie lets her eyes stray to his lips just as his tongue darts out to wet them and she lets out a shaky exhale. She doesn’t want to pull away, but something’s stopping her from moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I think I've hit peak UST. I make no apologies. I'm a sure thing, folks. We'll get there eventually. So, without further ado, please enjoy another chapter of incredibly fun, flirty fluff that is starting to gain a semblance of plot. If you like it, please let me know with kudos and a comment! As I said before, I'm a feedback whore and the more you guys love it, the faster I write! Enjoy!! x

Wrapping a silk scarf over her curls, Julie clips it into place. She needs to give her hair a chance to set, bobby pins holding the curls in place while they dry. Taylor Swift’s _Last Great American Dynasty_ plays softly from her laptop and she sings quietly to herself as she slides on a pair of shorts, tank top and some beat up tennis shoes. 

She’ll do her makeup and get her outfit ready later, but for now, she needs to head down to the studio. Luke is down there, shifting all the crap out of the way, so the garage looks nice and open behind them for when her dad and his friends film tonight and somewhere between the moment she climbed on his motorcycle and right now she decided she wanted to show him the lyrics to Perfect Harmony. It’s almost there and maybe they can figure it out before the other guys show up.

Pocketing the page from her journal, she heads down to the garage where the doors are propped open and he’s dribbling a basketball around the piano he moved out from the garage.

“Hey,” he says, mid-shot, which spins precariously around the rim before falling in, bouncing down to him. His forehead is glistening with a bit of sweat and his hoodie is hanging from the garage door handle, revealing one of the few t-shirts he owns that still has its sleeves. “Everything is pushed off to the side, do you want the drums out yet?”

“Nah, there’s actually something I want to run by you first,” she says, playing with the bobby pin that’s holding the silk wrap in place. He’s staring at the silk material, his brow furrowed.

“What’s…” he motions to his own head.

“It keeps the curls from getting frizzy after I wash my hair,” she explains, before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out the paper with Perfect Harmony scrawled across it in bits and pieces. 

“It looks cool,” he says, “you should rock it at school one day.” His eyes are kind of sparkling at her. She still doesn’t understand how he does that. Eyes don’t _sparkle_ and yet his do, so much brighter than any other eyes she’s ever seen. “So, what’s up?” 

“So, I started a song today, during school and I want you to look at the lyrics, it’s missing something,” she holds it out to him and he sets down the basketball before taking the folded note and wandering into the studio, unfolding it and reading along, his mouth forming the words to the hastily scrawled verses. He finishes quickly and then holds a finger up to her, jogging over to his bike where his school bag is, fishing out his own notebook.

“I was writing a thing the other day and I think it might fit in with this. It’s not done right?”

“No,” she says, relieved he's not asking what it was about, instead just going with it. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to him, but then that’s not really a thing they ever talk about. Sometimes they just _know_ and other times they know enough to not ask. Like that one song she knows he wrote about his mom, back when things were really rough between them.

“It’s good,” he says, finally. “Really good. We definitely need a ballad for the EP and this could be it. Here,” he says, leading her back toward the couch, now shoved where Alex’s drums are usually set up, in the alcove near the stairs, everything else neatly stacked behind it.

“You got a lot done really fast.”

“Yeah, you said you needed to shower early because of your hair, so I didn’t want you to have to get all sweaty moving shit,” he says, running a hand through his own hair and then grabbing a pen from the side pocket of his jeans. 

Something in her chest tightens at that. It’s so...thoughtful? It’s not a word she normally associates with Luke. He’s usually so _focused_ that he misses everything else around him. 

“So let me see if those lyrics of yours are as good as mine,” she jokes, sitting on the couch and tucking her legs underneath her. He hands her the notebook open to a page with a few scribbled lines crossed out on top and then in his large, scrawl across the middle:

_You set me free_

_You and me together is more than chemistry_

_Love me as I am_

_I'll hold your music here inside my hands_

“We could start it off with this or…” he says, grimacing at the lyrics. “But it feels more like an ending or almost ending.”

“Yeah,” she agrees, twisting her mouth in thought. “I kind of imagined it as a confession song, you know? This should be later because it’s just full out saying it.”

“Right,” he says, chewing on the end of the pen like he does with his guitar picks. “It’s a story though right? What if we started it like we were telling a story.”

“Yeah, like..almost like a once upon a time…”

They sit in silence for a minute and then two. This happen sometimes and what would be awkward with anyone else is just comfortable with him. Julie’s legs are falling asleep, so she shifts around letting her mind wander, trying to figure out a way to introduce a confession of love through music. Extending her legs out, Luke budges over lifting her feet before pulling off her sneakers before depositing her socked feet in his lap. 

“I like these jeans,” he explains quietly, giving her foot a squeeze. "I'm gonna wear them for the show tonight." 

“They’re nice,” she says, before dropping into silence again. 

Minutes keep ticking by, his fingers toying with the edge of her sock, just below her ankle, his knuckles brushing the skin there over and over again when suddenly he sits up, his hand fully surrounding her ankle.

“I’ve got it. It’s totally a duet, so what if it’s this guy talking about what he’s going through like…” he trails off and then starts humming to himself around the pen still hanging out of the corner of his mouth and then finally he says, ”Step into my world, bittersweet love story about a girl…voice like an angel, I’ve never heard before…”

Julie leans forward, pulling the pen out of his mouth, she quickly scribbles down the words. It’s happened to them before, coming up with something perfect only to forget it the next minute and losing it forever. “Yes, that’s good and then she, I guess, me, I answer, ‘Here in front of me, shining so much brighter than I have ever seen. Life can be so...mean?” she pauses and he nods. She doesn't love that, but moves on. “But when he goes, I know he doesn’t leave.” 

“Yes!” he says, pulling her with him by the foot until she’s nearly in his lap, her legs draped over his and she has to swallow back a momentary sense of panic at just how close they are, but then his voice refocuses her. “C’mon, Jules, write it quick…”

It starts to flow after that, heads bent together as they work on how it all fits moving bits and pieces of it around, finding the melody as they write.

“Perfect harmony...whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh oh...perfect harmony,” they sing together.

“Yes,” he whispers, after a moment. “I think that’s it or close. Very close.” 

Julie nods. She agrees, really, but also his hand, which just a second before had been beating out the time of the song gently against her thigh, was gently stroking back and forth and there’s no ignoring it now. The song isn’t the only thing close. They are...very close together. Very close.

She pulls in a breath as he looks up from the mass of scribbles on the page and a wave of recognition slides over his face. He swallows roughly, Adam’s apple bobbing as his eyes flick down to her mouth and then back to her eyes and it would be so easy for her to just lean in. She can see he wants her to, he’s hesitating, but the grip on her thigh tightens and all it would take is a quick shift of his weight for her to be on her back with him hovering over her on this ratty old couch. Julie lets her eyes stray to his lips just as his tongue darts out to wet them and she lets out a shaky exhale. She doesn’t want to pull away, but something’s stopping her from moving forward.

“Luke,” she whispers, afraid to break the moment, but if she doesn’t say something she’s going to implode. “Luke, I…”

“Yeah?” he encourages her and she swears he’s leaning in, or maybe that’s her, when scuffling footsteps at the door sends her gaze, eyes wide and panicked, in that direction.

“Hey, guys,” Alex says, leading Reggie into the garage and they sit there frozen, like deer in the headlights, nothing they can do except let their bandmates catch them with her practically on top of Luke, while his hand had, somehow unnoticed, crept just under the hem of her cotton shorts and instead of pulling away, the callused pads of his fingers squeeze, almost hard enough to bruise.

“Um…” Reggie says, looking at them, his eyes as wide as she knows hers are.

Luke clears his throat roughly and looks back to her before finally easing his grip. “Uh, Julie and I wrote a song.” 

Alex, mouth open and looking back and forth between them, not that his eyes have to travel very far to do it, snaps out of it. “Yeah, that’s um...that’s definitely what it looks like you were doing.” 

Reggie snickers and Julie glares at him, but he doesn’t stop. In fact, she’s pretty sure he just laughs harder.

“We did,” she says, attempting to untangle herself from Luke, but he doesn’t really make it easy, barely moving away as she shifts backwards and swings her legs off of his. The couch is old though and the cushions barely function as more than a cover for the pullout bed beneath them. When she tries to scoot away on the worn leather, all she succeeds in doing is sliding closer to him, their sides fully pressed together like they were earlier, back to front on his bike. Something jolts inside of her and she lets out a shaky breath. This is getting ridiculous.

Finally, Luke sighs and holds out the paper for the other half of their band to look at. “It’s a duet, a ballad. It’s mostly Julie’s, but I think it’ll really work as the last song on our EP.”

Alex takes the page from him and as herand Reggie look it over, Julie stands up. Before she gets too far, though, Luke’s hand shoots out and tangles his fingers with hers. Looking back down at him she mouths, “Later,” then sends him a soft smile. For a moment, the same panic she felt just a few minutes ago is reflected on his face then it completely dissipates at her smile. 

Squeezing his hand before she lets it drop, she says, “I have to go finish my hair. Flynn’s gonna be here in a minute with some decorations and my dad’s gonna be home soon with his friends from work. Once they get the cameras set up for the right angles, do you guys want to run through it a couple of times before everyone gets here?” 

She doesn’t wait for them to answer. Alex and Reggie are still looking over the song and if she looks at Luke again, she might just decide she doesn’t care if they see her climb back into his lap and kiss him until...until...she doesn’t even know what would stop her. 

The sound of a car pulling up to the house reminds her exactly what might. Her dad’s home probably with Carlos in tow. 

She races into the house and straight up to her room. She really needs Flynn to get here soon and in the same moment she has the thought, her phone blings to life.

Flynn: OMW! :) :) :) 

//

“...and then the other guys walked in and I totally panicked and came up here.”

Flynn exhales. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Julie says, almost collapsing back onto her bed when Flynn’s hand shoots out to stop her.

“I just spent twenty minutes getting those ringlets perfect. You will not destroy them over _almost_ kissing Luke Patterson.”

“I didn’t ‘almost kiss’ him. I almost...mauled him. It was...a lot.” 

“The boy could use a good mauling.” 

Julie nods in agreement, standing up and checking the butterfly clips in the mirror. Everything downstairs was done according to her dad who’d come up to check on her just a bit ago. The boys were ready to rehearse whenever she was. 

“I have to go back down there. We need to run through how we’re going to work the stage before I get changed. I don’t even know if I can look at him right now. I might combust.” 

“I say go with it. That’s the point of tonight right? To attract attention and seriously, there is nothing more exciting about your band than that intense mojo you two have together, that eye contact is sizzling on a normal night. Really let it go tonight and watch your phone blow up tomorrow morning with managers desperate to sign you guys.” 

“You think? That’s not really _why_ I want someone to sign us, but…”

“Jules, it’s the music business and I know you and the guys are real musicians, but for the pros it’s about what’s going to make them money. You’re all super talented, but lots of people are talented. You guys have something special on top of that. You can’t fake that kind of chemistry. Managers will be all over it.”

“You’re right, so we play into it and I spontaneously combust afterward from sheer frustration.”

“Or…”

“Or?” 

“Or you could hook up with him instead of exploding? Or...both I guess? The hooking up and the exploding, but the fun kind?”

Julie swallows back a quick denial. If she’s being honest with herself, that’s the only thing she’s been thinking about doing since this morning and after what just happened in the garage, that’s what she meant when she mouthed _later_ , to him, but she’s barely done more than kiss a guy before and with Luke, it wouldn't just be hooking up. It would be so much more than that and if they don’t talk about it before, everything could get so messed up so fast. Then again, maybe she’s just overthinking it. Does everyone worry this much about hooking up with a hot guy they really like, that they have a real connection with? “I...I don’t know if I’m…” 

“I’m just saying,” Flynn says, holding her hands up. “Don’t rule it out. Talk to him first, maybe, if you feel like that’ll help, but I don't know why you two are torturing your selves.”

Flynn’s words are still echoing in her mind when she heads out back to the garage where the guys are tuning their instruments.. Her Dad and his friends, with the help of Flynn’s awesome decorations and some lighting they borrowed from work have the driveway and garage looking like some kind of epic soundstage instead of...a driveway and garage. Sunset Curve is spelled out across the open garage doors in neon puffs of crepe paper and streamers hang down from inside the garage to really focus the attention on the drums and piano out in front of it.

“You ready to run through Great?” she asks, heading straight for her bench. Alex sends her a thumbs up after he tightens the gear on his mic stand, then settles onto his stool, twirling a drumstick through his fingers. 

“Just one sec,” Reggie says, plucking out a couple of notes on his bass. “Okay we’re good.” 

Luke finally looks up from his guitar and nods. “Let’s go,” he rasps, but refuses to meet her eyes, staring determinedly at the microphone in front of him. 

Something’s majorly wrong. What the hell happened in the half hour she’d been away? 

Her insides twist into a knot and her shoulders tighten as she spins toward the keys and takes a deep breath, trying to will her body to relax. She doesn’t have time for this right now. They need to rehearse. They need to kick ass for their friends and the cameras and then she and Luke need to talk.


	4. Interlude: Now or Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crap, he really needs to get it together. It was bad enough when, without thinking about it at all, he gave her a ride home on his bike. He’d just caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and he knew he could get her home way faster than the bus and they’d be able to get started on rehearsing sooner. He hadn’t considered exactly what it would do to him to have her completely pressed against his back for the ride, her arms around him and her legs too. He’d had to go through every chord progression he knew on guitar to keep his mind focused on the road and getting them to her house in one piece, especially after he felt her relax into him, her cheek between his shoulder blades, totally trusting he’d take care of her. Somehow that was even sexier than the rest of it. Sure, it was close, but it won out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we ever getting to the actual garage party? Probably, but not yet. First, we need to delve into Luke's head a bit and let me tell you, it's a complete mess in there. It's fun writing Luke because he's an amazing character with such a passion for music and focus on his dreams, but he's also just a seventeen year old kid in some ways and I really wanted to explore that side of him, the side where he's unsure and self-conscious and has no idea what the right thing to do is, so he...decides to...well you'll see...
> 
> I plan on doing these every once in a while, whenever I feel like we need a bit of Luke's perspective on things or if there's a scene from the show where Julie doesn't fit, but I still want to include it. They'll be shorter than normal chapters, but I hope you still enjoy them. 
> 
> As always, I'm a feedback whore, so comments and kudos give me life and keep me writing!

She’s gone, with the tail of that silk scarf trailing after her and Luke shifts on the couch, his throat incredibly dry and his body still humming. He can still smell the shampoo she used in the air, coconut and a little bit of something flowery. His heart skips a beat as he inhales deeply. If he concentrates really hard, he can still feel the softness of her skin underneath his fingers. 

Crap, he really needs to get it together. It was bad enough when, without thinking about it at all, he gave her a ride home on his bike. He’d just caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and he knew he could get her home way faster than the bus and they’d be able to get started on rehearsing sooner. He hadn’t considered exactly what it would do to him to have her completely pressed against his back for the ride, her arms around him and her legs too. He’d had to go through every chord progression he knew on guitar to keep his mind focused on the road and getting them to her house in one piece, especially after he felt her relax into him, her cheek between his shoulder blades, totally trusting he’d take care of her. Somehow that was even sexier than the rest of it. Sure, it was close, but it won out. 

And just now, it was easy to pull her to him. Too easy. He always forgot himself around Julie. They’d just sort of clicked. He’s never felt like this about anyone. Reggie and Alex are his best friends and nothing will ever change that, but this feeling sliding through his veins right now, it’s different and it’s fucking terrifying. Want he’s felt before. He started noticing girls a long ass time ago, but this isn’t just that. Okay, it’s a lot of that, but also something else and if he thinks too long about it, it gets even more terrifying.

“What the hell was that?” Alex whisper-screams as soon as Julie leaves the garage.

Luke stands, rubbing at his chest, still staring in the direction where Julie disappeared around the door while his heart rate finally slows and the blood stops pounding in his ears. 

“What was what?” 

Reggie looks at him like he’s lost it and, honestly maybe he has. “You and Julie, man. You two looked like you were about to…”

“He knows what I was talking about,” Alex cuts in, exasperation overpowering his usual patience with Reggie.

“I don’t,” he says, tilting his head at Alex. “We were just...we were…”

“You were about to kiss or maybe like...I don’t know, more than kiss? That looked intense,” Reggie says. 

“It was,” he admits, but then pivots a bit. “The song we’re writing, it’s really good.” 

“Yeah it is, but that’s not what we’re talking about,” Alex says, shoving the song back at him. 

“Nothing else to talk about,” Luke says, shrugging, but he knows it sounds as stupid as it feels to say. One more second, hell one more half second and Alex and Reggie would have walked in on a lot more than what they saw. She was leaning in, or maybe he was, it’s impossible to be sure and he knew what his next move would have been, he’d have hauled her up against him, wrapped his arms around her body and...and...he glances back at the couch. He has no idea what would have stopped him at that point. Except Julie and from what he could tell, she would have been completely on board with...his heart rate picks back up.

“Dude, snap out of it,” Alex says, literally snapping in front of his face. 

“Sorry, I…”

“Listen, we’ve known this is coming for a while now, but…”

“What’s been coming?”

“You and Julie.” 

Clearing his throat, Luke blinks at him and he sticks to the only thing he can think of that will make this uncomfortable ache in his chest go away. “What? No, man, that’s just...that’s how I get when I write.”

“And perform,” Reggie adds in, helpfully. “You two have major chemistry.” 

“I’m just saying, maybe don’t hook up with her with a door open. You were lucky it was us and not Ray.”

At the mere thought of Ray walking in on them, Luke’s stomach drops. Yeah, that’d be bad. Really bad and...what if her dad banned her from being in Sunset Curve or wouldn’t let them hang out to write anymore, if they were, you know, together or whatever. It would totally blow up this great thing they have going. They’re so close to making it. He knows it, can feel it in his bones. He can’t do anything to screw it up now.

There’s only one thing to do. Full on denial.

“No, we weren’t gonna do anything like that. Julie’s great, but I have chemistry with everyone I sing with.” 

Reggie snorts. “Not like that.”

Alex nods his agreement.

“Seriously, watch...I believe,” he starts, taking a step toward Reggie and then another, making sure to hold his gaze. “I believe that we’re just one dream, away from who we’re meant to be,” he reaches out and grabs his bandmate by the neck, pulling him closer. “That we’re standing on the edge of….” he draws out the eye contact, “great.” 

“Wow, I see chemistry,” Alex says, but Luke isn’t sure whether he’s being sarcastic or not. It’s tough to tell with Alex, sometimes. 

“Yeah,” Reggie squeaks. “That was pretty hot.” 

Luke can’t help it, he drops his hand and kisses two fingers before pressing them to Reggie’s lips. Alex snorts behind them as Luke grabs for his guitar. Reggie clears his throat loudly behind him. 

“Girls, am I right?” he asks, grabbing his bass.

“Yeah,” Luke agrees, slinging his guitar strap over his head. Or girl. One girl. Shit, he's got it bad.

“No,” Alex says, moving behind the drums. 

They run through Great a few times before Flynn arrives and Luke nods up toward the house to let her know where Julie is and Ray isn’t long after. He, Carlos and a few of his work buddies get going setting up cameras and helping them get Alex’s drum set out behind the piano before they work on the lighting, making sure they’ll look like rock stars at a private show. 

It’s awesome and professional and that feeling he gets, that certainty that they’re going to make it big comes roaring back, overpowering everything else. This is what he’s been working toward forever. He fought against his parents expectations and Bobby’s bullshit and even his own doubts sometimes and tonight, it’s all going to happen.

If he can control himself. The music is what matters and he and Julie, they make the best music he’s ever written. Whatever they have right now, it’s working and he’s not going to be the one to fuck it up. Not now. Not when they’re so close.

“You guys ready to run through Great?” Julie’s voice calls from the steps leading down to the driveway, but he busies himself with his guitar. He can’t let himself look at her. Not right now. If he does, his resolve will totally crumble. He has to do this right, for the band and for her. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Alex send her a thumbs up.

“Just one sec,” Reggie says, plucking out a couple of notes on his bass. “Okay we’re good.” 

Luke finally looks up, but not at her. He’s not that far away from her and he can smell that flowery scent mixed with coconut again. Her hair is probably down, the long curls falling down her back. He’d twisted one around his finger more than once while they were writing, soft and springy and always smelling so good. 

It takes everything in him to refocus his mind, so he just nods and rasps, “Let’s go.”

He can feel her hesitating and he doesn't have to look to know her eyes are on him, waiting for something, but then a few seconds later, her hands hit the first chord on the piano and they’re off, into the music, giving it everything they’ve got.

Tonight, this is what matters. Nothing else. It’s now or never.


	5. The Edge of Great

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when she’s figured out what she wants, he has to go and...what is he even doing? Ignoring her? What’s that going to do? Shoving feelings aside doesn’t work, all it does is pressure pack them until they explode and not in the fun kind of way, where they’re both gasping for air and their bodies are wrapped together and she can feel him everywhere, especially those calluses on the pads of his fingers. He’s so gentle, but she knows how talented his hands can be on the guitar and she wonders if he...no she doesn’t have to wonder. There’s no way that talent doesn’t extend to other things. No possible way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this was going to be a two parter. Ha! What a sweet summer child I was. Anyway, this is going to continue for...however long. Again, there's a semblance of a plot emerging and hopefully in the next few days I figure out what exactly this story wants to be. In the meantime, please enjoy more UST and a kind-of, almost pining swap, angsty rendition of Edge of Great. As always, the more feedback I get, the more excited I am to write, so all the comments please and thank you!!

“Band circle,” Reggie says from their spots off to the side in the garage, out of the view of the crowd and her dad’s camera crew. There are only a few dozen people out there, it’s easy to hear them milling around waiting for the show to get started, but in the relatively small space, it looks like a lot more. With a bit of movie magic from the cameras and lighting, it’s going to look so cool. Way better than Flynn’s thoughtful, but very shaky, video of Finally Free from that open mic night. 

Julie moves between Reggie and Alex, their hands clasping hers and they stand in silence, eyes down as they breathe together slowly and evenly until their inhales and exhales match. Then she looks up and catches, just for a second, Luke staring at her, the way she’s used to him looking at her and she never wants him to stop, but he does, because whatever is going on in his head has clearly centered on her. She can’t figure out what happened. There’s no way she could have done anything. When she left him, he was fine. Better than fine, if he felt anything like she had. And yet, he’s pulling away.

She hates it, but there’s also something else there and she likes..no...she might as well admit it, she loves him too much to be really angry. She just wants to help him. They can work through whatever it is, together, if he’ll let her. But first...she has to get him to look at her again. Really look. Julie’s not sure she’ll survive if Luke doesn’t ever look at her again, the way he was today.

“Legends on three,” he mutters, looking at the ground again. Reggie and Alex exchange a concerned look and then both glance, totally without subtlety, in her direction. 

“One, two, three,” she says, ignoring their looks, determined to push past this, if for at least the next three minutes. After that, all bets are off.

“Legends!” they chorus together, raising their hands in the air and at least that feels normal. Whatever is going on, she’s sure it won’t screw up their performance. 

Just everything else, apparently. She kind of wants to strangle him. Just when she’s figured out what she wants, he has to go and...what is he even doing? Ignoring her? What’s that going to do? Shoving feelings aside doesn’t work, all it does is pressure pack them until they explode and not in the fun kind of way, where they’re both gasping for air and their bodies are wrapped together and she can feel him everywhere, especially those calluses on the pads of his fingers. He’s so gentle, but she knows how talented his hands can be on the guitar and she wonders if he...no she doesn’t have to wonder. There’s no way that talent doesn’t extend to other things. No possible way.

Julie’s face heats up as she tries to focus and makes a desperate attempt to not to look at him, but as always, her eyes are drawn directly to him. He’s bouncing on his toes, like a boxer headed into a fight, staying warm and ready. It’s his normal pre-show nerves working their way out of his system. When they go on tour, they're going to have to get him a punching bag or something. If he’s this hyped for a few friends on her driveway, imagine what playing a real show would do to him. Julie’s heart flips. If they get there. If whatever he’s going through doesn’t ruin everything. If...if she didn’t ruin everything. 

“What’s up everybody? Time to put your hands up. Make your hips swerve. Here’s the new anthem, from Sunset Curve,” Flynn’s words echo out over the small enclosure and Julie’s stomach flips, the butterflies that adorn her hair and her outfit finding a new home inside of her, flapping away, excitement, not nerves coursing through her.

“Thanks for coming everyone,” Julie says, as she and guys walk out from the garage and their friends from school cheer for them. Her eyes flit and flick over the crowd. Her dad is back and to the left, up on the retaining wall, hovering over an expensive looking camera and just below him Nick is standing with Carrie, who had the audacity to show up despite not getting an invite. Nick sends her an encouraging smile and she smiles back, before taking her seat at the piano. 

Reggie’s on her right, bass at the ready and she glances to her left, where Luke is standing. She wants him to look at her, just once before they do this and maybe he feels her gaze because he turns, his eyes landing right on hers and nods. There’s no sparkle, no warmth she’s spent the last two months letting wash over her, but it’s something, at least. She can work with that. 

Her fingers find the right keys and with that first chord, she’s in a different world, one where nothing matters except the music. 

_Running from the past_

_Tripping on the now_

_What is lost can be found_

_It’s obvious_

The crowd immediately responds, little whoops and cheers keep her voice strong and steady as she goes on. Her fingers gently coax the opening notes and send them out into the crowd, but tonight she’s singing for an audience of one and if after that, he still doesn’t...doesn’t want her then she’ll just have to accept it. They’re too good to give this up, not for anything.

_And like a rubber ball_

_We come bouncing back_

_We all got a second act_

_Inside of us_

Then Alex hits the drums and the lights behind them flare to life as Reggie and Luke come in right on cue. Julie grabs her mic, spinning off the piano bench as they rock into the first pre-chorus. 

_I believe_

_I believe that we're just one dream_

_Away from who we're meant to be_

_That we're standing on the edge of_

The crowd is totally feeling it. Clapping along, arms in the air, dancing and pumping their fists. It’s a total rush. Turning to Alex, he’s owning the drums and his voice is holding up their harmony as they sing. Reggie’s plucking out the perfect rhythm with his bass and when she faces him, he grins at her mouth to the mic.

_Something big, something crazy_

_Our best days are yet unknown_

_That this moment is ours to own_

_'Cause we're standing on the edge of great_

She’s supposed to go to Luke now, that’s what they’d planned out just this morning, but she can’t, not if the camera is just going to catch him ignoring her. 

Then she sees it.

He sneaks a glance at her, a quick darting of his eyes in her direction, so fast she could have missed it if she wasn’t looking for it. But she was and he knew she would be because that’s what they do when they play. He’s fighting something inside of him, that’s clear enough, and she doesn’t know what it is, but whatever it is, he’s feeling it deeply. That’s just how he feels things, everything. Luke’s incapable of hiding his emotions, everything is there in his expression, in his eyes, an open book, especially when he’s playing. And they’ve always been able to work through whatever obstacles they’ve faced with their music. 

Why should tonight be different? 

_(On the edge of great) Great_

_(On the edge of great) Great_

_(On the edge of great)_

_'Cause we're standing on the edge of great_

Out in the crowd, her eyes land on Nick again and he’s clapping along with Carrie still beside him, looking super pressed. Well, good. What, did she think they were going to blow it? Did she not get her ass handed to her enough at that open mic? She felt the need for another blow to the ego, apparently. And who the hell even invited her? There is no way Flynn did that, so clearly the other girl is crashing. Whatever. It’s nice that Nick showed, but even as she heads into the last part of the chorus, she just doesn’t feel anything while she sings to him. He’s cute and sweet and congenial, but he doesn’t make her feel anything stronger than a sort of distant affection, maybe at most, friendship. Not anymore. Not like...

  
  


_We all make mistakes_

_But they're just stepping stones_

_To take us where we wanna go_

_It's never straight, no_

It’s like she’s drawn to his voice as he takes the lead for this verse. Her eyes go first, but then her feet are following, like there’s a string attached to every note he hits. She’s not the only one who notices. There’s a slightly higher pitch of shout coming from the crowd now as the girls show their appreciation for the low rumble of his voice. He sees her approaching and Luke turns toward the girls nearest him, to sing to them, but it’s too late. Julie saw what she needed to in his eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected her to face him and in that moment, the sheer magnetism of his gaze, the want that radiated in every gold fleck sprinkled across his hazel eyes mirrored her own.

So she takes her cue from the song. 

_Sometimes we gotta lean_

_Lean on someone else_

_To get a little help_

_Until we find our way_

She heads toward center stage and when he keeps his back to her, she follows the natural flow of his body and presses her back to his, leaning into him to hold her up. His shoulders tense for only a split second before he rocks back into her. He’s so much taller than her and when he moves, her hair slides over his arms as their voices harmonize and her head rests back against his shoulder. The vibrations of the guitar slide through his body and into hers and she can’t even see him, but it’s the sexiest thing she’s ever felt in her life. She can practically feel his smile growing as they sing together. Then, the crowd explodes as they burst into the chorus. 

Julie shifts her weight and gives Luke a playful shove with her hip before she heads out toward the crowd, like they originally rehearsed. She sings to her classmates and friends, before she finds Flynn at the center of the pack, smiling widely and rocking to the song. Reaching out, she takes her best friend’s hand for a second and they dance together as she sings the chorus.

_I believe_

_I believe that we're just one dream_

_Away from who we're meant to be_

_That we're standing on the edge of_

_Something big, something crazy_

_Our best days are yet unknown_

_That this moment is ours to own_

She can feel his eyes on her now, almost as real and tangible as his hands on her skin and when she spins back toward the piano, he’s staring. The sheer force of it nearly makes her voice crack on the first _great_ as they sing through the last part of the chorus. 

_'Cause we're standing on the edge of great_

_(On the edge of great) Great_

_(On the edge of great) Great_

_(On the edge of great)_

_'Cause we're standing on the edge of…_

There’s an incredible headiness in the power coursing through her veins now, as the crowd gets a little more rowdy. This is everything she’s ever wanted and Luke still hasn’t taken his eyes off of her. Then, out of nowhere, inspiration strikes. As they round the last line of the chorus, she steps up onto the bench and moves up over the keys on top of the piano, crawling across it. Shrieks of approval greet her as she finds a seat on the edge and she rocks back and forth with the music.

_Shout, shout_

_C'mon and let it out, out_

_Don't gotta hide it_

_Let your colors blind their eyes_

_Be who you are no compromise_

_Just shout, shout_

_C'mon and let it out, out_

_What doesn't kill you makes you feel alive_

Reggie and Alex go silent as she breaks down the next verse and she goes up on a knee, singing like she’s praying to a higher power. She is, in a way. Julie believes the words she’s singing, down into her very bones. She closes her eyes and just feels the music.

He can come to her now, if he wants her. She’s not going to chase him. 

_Ooh-oh I believe, I believe that we're just one dream_

And as she sings, that’s when a soft guitar riff responds and her eyes fly open. Luke’s walking toward her, eyes soft now and earnest, as she lets her gaze pull him in. She wants him and she isn’t afraid of him or anyone else knowing it. Julie can’t help the bright smile that escapes as she sings and then his matches hers as he leans back against the piano. The joy flooding her at that moment is so strong, she has to let it out in one long, powerhouse of a note.

_Away from who we're meant to be_

_That we're standing on the edge of great_

She holds that note for as long as her lungs will allow and the band goes with it diving into the chorus without her. They’re so in sync and comfortable, they follow her voice anywhere. It’s brilliant. It’s the thing that makes good bands into legendary ones and they have it after just six weeks.

_Something big, something crazy_

_Our best days are yet unknown_

_That this moment is ours to own_

_'Cause we're standing on the edge of great_

_(On the edge of great) On the edge of great_

_(Great, on the edge of great) On the edge_

_(Great, on the edge of great)_

_'Cause we're standing on the edge of…_

She catches up with them mid-chorus, sliding off the piano and heading back to the bench where she’ll softly bring it home. Her entire body is humming with the high of this performance and then just as everything around her falls silent and she echos the first lines of the song, a warm breath slides over her neck and sings along with her, before edging onto the seat beside her. She only has to turn a fraction to look straight into his eyes and sing the last words to him as he sings them right back. 

_Running from the past_

_Tripping on the now_

_What is lost can be found, it's obvious_

It’s too much as his eyes pin her in place and then flick to her mouth and back up again. She wants more than anything to close the space between them and give in to the fire that’s been burning between them for weeks now. Now that would be one hell of a way to end the video. She can see it now, their lips touching, gently at first, but then opening to each other, softly and slowly, taking their time while the crowd goes completely wild.

And then thunderous applause, from that very crowd, breaks the moment, cheering and whistling from all corners of their driveway and reality is there once more. Luke closes his eyes and lets out a soft sigh before resting his forehead against hers. He pulls away and she immediately feels the loss of contact, but he’s not gone for long. His lips trail down to her check to press a soft kiss there and then he whispers softly, against her ear, “Later.”

That one word, echoing what she’d said to him earlier, is enough to send a shiver through her entire body. 

Finally he stands and offers her his hand, a broad smirk playing across his mouth as he helps her up and they join Reggie and Alex to bow to the crowd and give her dad and his crew a final shot of them before cutting the cameras.

Her hand fits into Luke’s on one side and Alex’s on the other and they raise their arms and bow as the crowd keeps cheering and then a chant breaks out.

“Sunset Curve! Sunset Curve! Sunset Curve!” Julie's eyes fly around the space and Flynn is smirking at her clapping along with the words. She owes her best friend big time.

“Encore?” Reggie asks, raising his eyebrows, his cheeks flush with excitement.

“I say we give the people what they want,” Luke says, but his eyes aren’t focused on any of them and his grip on Julie’s hand gets tighter. She looks in the general direction he’s staring and that’s when she sees Bobby Wilson, Carrie’s brother, in the midst of the crowd, smirking, like he knows something they don't.

“How about _Now or Never_?” Julie suggests. It was a song that they wrote while Bobby was still around, but they’d never been able to perform it. They’d reworked it recently to bring her in, but it’s still very much Luke’s song and right now, there’s nothing Julie wants more than for him to shove it down Bobby’s throat.

Alex races back to the drums and the crowd senses that they’re getting more music. A cheer goes up. 

“One, two, three!” Alex counts them in, a little extra emotion in his voice.

And with a powerful stroke against his guitar strings, Luke’s voice explodes through the mic out into the Los Angeles night, “Take off, last stop, count down, til we blast open the top face first full charge, electric hammer to the heart!”


	6. Light a Fire in My Eyes, I'm Going Out of my Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie’s voice is raw and raspy by the time she hits that last high note with Luke, but the adrenaline from the performance and the crowd is enough to pull her through, not to mention the boys. They’d never played a full set together before and while she knew this band was her present and future since they first started playing together, it never felt more real than right now, under the lights, a crowd held in their thrall, sweat soaked hair and her face flush with exertion. 
> 
> This is everything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, everyone. I think we've finally reached the end. At least for this fic. I've got some work obligations that will be taking up a bunch of my time in the very near future, however, I do anticipate continuing on in this universe with a few one shots and then maybe when things calm down a bit, a longer fic again! I hope you enjoy this last chapter. There's a lot going on here, but we've FINALLY reached the "later" Julie and Luke have been waiting for! Remember, feedback whore here, so leave me your thoughts!! And go tell your friends to watch Julie and the Phantoms so we get a season 2!

They play Now or Never and the crowd doesn’t let up at all, so they dive right into Finally Free and then Bright. 

Julie’s voice is raw and raspy by the time she hits that last high note with Luke, but the adrenaline from the performance and the crowd is enough to pull her through, not to mention the boys. They’d never played a full set together before and while she knew this band was her present and future since they first started playing together, it never felt more real than right now, under the lights, a crowd held in their thrall, sweat soaked hair and her face flush with exertion. 

This is everything. 

The crowd is still calling for more, but she’s had it and besides, they don’t actually have anything else ready to perform. Stand Tall is almost there, but not quite and she’s not completely ready to put Wake Up out there for public consumption, despite how much the song means to her.

Her dad comes to the rescue. “Sorry everyone,” he says, moving out next to the piano. “I just had a fun conversation with the LAPD and the neighbors want us to shut it down, but let’s hear it one more time for Sunset Curve!” 

“Tell your friends!” Reggie adds at the end and winks.

Her friends go absolutely wild, still cheering for them, as the band unplugs and Finn races forward with bottles of water and some towels. 

“I live-streamed the entire thing, there were literally twenty thousand people watching by the time you got to Bright,” Finn says to her, her usual exuberance gone, replaced by a kind of awe Julie’s never heard in her best friend’s voice before. “The band’s socials are blowing up. I made Kayla check. You have like 10K followers now.” 

“What?” Julie asks, wiping her brow with a towel. “We had like a couple of hundred this morning.” 

“You had two hundred and eighty seven an hour and a half ago,” Flynn corrects her. “This is wild.” 

“Guys, check this out,” Julie calls behind her and the boys pull themselves away from some of their school friends and hover behind her to look at Flynn’s screen, the numbers increasing every time she reloads the page. 

“Holy meatballs,” Reggie says.

“Yeah, something like that,” Alex says, seemingly unable to muster his typical exasperation with their bassist.

Julie just stares at the screen, shaking her head, when a hand softly lands at the back of her neck, a calloused thumb brushing back and forth at the spot just behind her ear. 

“Fuck,” Luke rasps, his voice almost as gone as hers. “Look at that.” 

A shiver slips through her at the contact, but then his voice sends a lightning bolt through her body, electricity flowing over every inch of her skin, before barreling back to center on that one spot, just behind her ear. At his small, sharp intake of breath, she knows he felt exactly how her body reacted and he shifts closer, his chest lining up to her back, his cheek sliding across the top of her hair.

They can’t do this right now. Reggie and Alex are literally inches away from them. Flynn is standing right here. There are dozens of people milling around, including her dad and little brother and she’s just about to pull away when his other hand falls to her hip, his pinky finger tucking gently into the waistband of her pants. Maybe it’s by accident, who knows? Who cares, really? 

Julie’s hand shakes a little and Flynn reaches out to grab the phone before it falls.

“Down girl,” her best friend mutters and Julie shoots her a desperate look. She doesn’t even know what she’s asking for really, because she doesn’t actually want to pull away from Luke. At all. But with the phone out of her grasp, he doesn’t have an excuse to be this close anymore, so he steps back, both of his hands trailing away slowly, seemingly as reluctant to lose contact with her as she is with him.

At least she’s not alone. She glances behind her and he hasn’t gone far, just a step or two and she’s about to throw caution to the wind and extend her hand toward him, hoping he takes it and then pulls her away from here while they call very flimsy excuses back at their friends. He’s bouncing on his toes again and maybe he’s having the same thought. That they both promised each other later and maybe later is finally here?

“Ah!” an excited shriek explodes near here. “Mija, that was brilliant. Eres maravillosa! Your mamá would be so proud,” her tía Victoria says, barging through the crowd and pulling Julie into a hug. 

“Oh, tía, I’m all sweaty and gross,” Julie complains, but it’s the perfect metaphorical cold shower. 

“You think I care about that? I changed your diapers. I cannot believe how beautiful you were out there.” 

“Thanks,” Julie says, hugging her back tightly. 

Victoria pulls away and nods firmly. “And you, boys! You are all so talented, come here!” She plants kisses on each of their cheeks. “And once everyone clears out of here, I made Arroz con gandules, but not for all these people!” 

Then she flounces away, as quickly as she arrived, moving to help her dad get everyone going.

“Victoria cooked for us,” Reggie yells. “We’ve made it, boys.” 

“That’s one way to measure success, I guess.”

Julie looks away from sending a sweet smile at Reggie to glare daggers at Carrie. She’s dressed for a movie premiere instead of a garage party with NIck and Bobby flanking her, though as usual Nick cringes at the cruel words she spouts. That boy needs to get her claws out of him and fast before she just steamrolls his entire life. Not that it’s any of Julie’s business.

“There are lots of ways to define success,” Julie shoots back. “Loyalty to your friends and your art is pretty standard though, wouldn’t you say?” She’s looking at Carrie, but the words are for Bobby. She’s barely ever spoken a word to the boy she replaced in Sunset Curve, but she knows he hurt he caused. 

“It’s definitely a different vibe for you, Julie. I mean, before you didn’t sing for a whole year you were always way more of a singer/songwriter. I’m not sure rock is really your thing, you know? Butterfly clips don’t really scream _Rolling Stone_.” 

“Carrie,” Nick cautions.

“What?” the blonde girl asks, smirking and shrugging her shoulders. “I’m just trying to give her some professional advice. She clearly always wanted to be like the Puerto Rican Alicia Keys and this,” she gestures at the boys, “is definitely not that.” 

“What can I say, Carrie?” Julie says, with a faux helpless shrug. “Some artists are versatile enough to pull off a range of styles and genres.” 

For once in her entire life, Julie said the thing she wanted to say to Carrie at exactly the moment she wanted to say it and it feels like she might ascend from her body on to another plane of existence. Almost as good as having Luke’s hands on her. Almost.

Her words just sit there, out in the open and no one makes a sound except for Reggie’s nervous giggle behind her. That’s what sends Carrie over the edge. She lets out a ragey shriek from the back of her throat and then stomps off, towing Nick along with her. 

Bobby’s eyes land on her for a second and then flit to Luke instead, just over her shoulder. “You’ll be happy to know my copyrights came through. That songbook is officially mine.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Julie sees Alex and Reggie tense, ready to spring into action if Luke takes the bait. This is a fight that’s been brewing for months now. Hell, she’d like to punch Bobby in the throat herself, but it’s not her fight. Not really.

But there’s no fist flying through the air to pummel Bobby for all the shit he’s put them through, for stealing their music and using his daddy’s connections to claim ownership for the songs Luke poured his heart into for years.

Instead, Luke laughs. There isn’t any humor in it. Anyone who knows him well would be able to hear the warning behind it, but as he steps up beside her, he shoots Bobby a smile, shallow and sarcastic. “Why would I want any of that old shit? Did you hear the music we’ve been making since we dropped your dead weight? You’re welcome to it. Hell, record My Name is Luke while you’re at it. That way everyone will know exactly how much of a fraud you are.” 

Bobby scoffs in disbelief at Luke’s indifference and then his eyes drift to Julie. He takes a step forward and immediately Luke moves out in front of her, Reggie and Alex right behind him and she can’t hear what Bobby says next, but it must have been bad.

It must have been really, really bad.

“You motherfucker,” Luke grits out, while Alex reaches up and claps Luke on the shoulder.

“C’mon man, he’s not worth it.” Alex says, his grip firm enough to pull Luke back a step.

It’s just enough of an opening for the other boy whose fist lands in Luke’s stomach, just as he’s facing away and slightly off balance.

Luke lets out a grunt and a short weeze, before he recovers, spins and dives for Bobby’s middle, knocking him to the ground. 

Julie loses sight of them as Flynn pulls her back and the other boys close in, with the last straggling bits of the crowd converging immediately, phone out and recording. 

Panicked, Julie’s eyes fly around the driveway and she immediately finds her dad, whose smile disappears as he takes in the scene in front of him. “Hey!” he yells, splitting the crowd with authority and then yanking Luke, his fist still raised, ready to land a blow, off of Bobby, who’d managed to curl in on himself down on the concrete. 

“Easy, son,” her dad, says, his arms wrapping around Luke to hold him back. “He’s down. Take it easy.” 

Luke’s chest is heaving with exertion, his rose flaring with barely contained rage. 

“Bobby started it, Mr. Molina,” Flynn squeaks, her hand squeezing Julie’s. “I’ve got it all on tape.” 

One day, Julie’s going to find a way to repay her best friend for just how awesome she is, but she’s not sure if she’ll ever be able to cobble together that kind of money, no matter how big Sunset Curve gets.

“I don’t care who started it.” He finally releases Luke from his grip. “You,” he says, “go inside.” Luke takes a long breath and with one final glare at Bobby, he turns and marches up the stairs toward the house, taking the steps two at a time. Her dad turns back to Bobby. “And you, get out of here. I’m calling your father and you better hope you get home and explain exactly what happened to him before I do.” 

Bobby mutters something that sounds almost like an agreement stumbles to his feet, clutching one hand to his eye, his other arm cradling his middle. He gingerly limps up the driveway and out of sight. 

“Go,” Flynn whispers to her, flicking her eyes toward the house. “I’ll handle your dad.” 

Julie squeezes her hand again and then quietly slips away while Reggie and Alex help her dad get everyone else out of their driveway. 

The house is quiet when she moves in through the kitchen door. Her tía is nowhere to be seen and neither is Carlos. A quick glance into the living room confirms no one is in there either, she moves upstairs and goes to the only other place in the house she thinks Luke might be comfortable. 

“Hey,” she says, moving into her bedroom, finding him sitting on the floor, his back propped up against her mattress, head back, pressing his hand against a rapidly formly bruise on his jaw. “So he did get another shot in.” 

“Just the one,” he mutters, unmoving. “If you came here to yell at me, you can save it. I know I fucked up.”

Julie’s brow furrows as she moves closer. “Why would I yell at you?” she asks, stopping just in front of him.

“Because I lost it and ruined the perfect night.” 

He finally opens his eyes and stares up at her.

“Bobby ruined the night. He sucker punched you. Everyone saw it. Hell, Flynn got it on video. You...I think...I didn’t hear what he said, but I assume it might have been pretty bad.”

“It was,” he says, his eyes not leaving hers. “I don’t think I can repeat what he said.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think I want to know,” she says, sitting down on the bed and then tilting her head in invitation. “C’mere let me take a look at that.”

Luke pushes up from the floor and bounces down beside her on the mattress. Reaching up, she pulls his hand away from his jawline and leans in to examine it closely. He must not have shaved this morning. There’s a bit of stubble coming in around the red mark on his skin. She runs her tumb along it gently.

“I think you’ll be okay,” she whispers tilting her head and looking up at him through her lashes. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She leans in to brush her lips against the spot as gently as she can. Still, he hisses at the contact. “Sorry,” she says, still close enough that she can feel the warmth of his skin as her mouth forms the word.

Luke doesn't answer, at least not with words. He reaches us up, one hand diving into the depths of her hair, cupping her cheek with the other and drawing her mouth to his. The kiss is firm and insistent and Julie can feel it down to her toes and then all the way back up again, twisting and twirling through her veins before settling into a low burning heat deep inside of her. 

Julie opens her mouth against his, his bottom lip sliding easily between hers and she flicks her tongue lightly there. He responds instantly, pulling her closer, his hands skimming over her arms to her hips.

“C’mere,” he rumbles against her mouth and with his fingers sliding around her body, he tugs her over to him. They’ve been dancing around this thing between them for long enough. Julie follows his lead, lifting one leg up and straddling his legs as his arms come around her entirely. 

He looks up at her taking a deep breath. “Shit, you look damn good up there.” Julie takes a shuddering breath at his words and a confident grin quirks up at the corner of his mouth. “Oh, you like that?” he asks. 

“Shut up,” she mumbles, feeling her face flush because it’s ridiculous. She’s straddling him on her bed after he fought a guy for her and _that_ ’s what she’s embarrassed about.

Luke just chuckles, “Yes, ma’am,” he says, lifting his mouth to hers again, making sure there’s no space between them by pulling her hips against his before he rolls them over and it’s so easy for him to just slide between her legs, creating the most delicious friction she’s ever felt in her life. She arches against him, craving more contact as his mouth drops to from her lips to her jawline, trailing up to that same spot that he’d touched earlier. Her body jerks against his when his teeth scrape against it. 

Letting out a groan, Luke’s forehead lands against her shoulder. “Shit, do you hear the noises you make? You’re the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”

His lips press a soft kiss to her exposed shoulder and she’s never been happier with her wardrobe choices because it would be so easy for him to just follow that bare patch of skin to a place where she’s suddenly desperate for him to go.

That’s the thought that brings the world back into focus. 

“Luke,” she manages to groan out since he clearly had the same thought she did, his nose finding the edge of her top, nudging at it softly, almost like asking permission.

Her hand lifts to the back of his hair and the soft strands slide through her fingers as she opens her eyes and meets his gaze. 

“I want…” she manages to whisper, through the heady desire short-circuiting through her body. “But…” and she loses the thread of her thoughts when 

“But your dad is right downstairs and so are the boys and Flynn and Carlos,” he murmurs against her skin, that stubble she noticed earlier rough against the soft rise of her breast and she shudders again. “Damn.” He finally pulls away, shaking his head like he needs to clear it. “Okay, we’ve gotta…”

He raises himself up on his hands and she has to let her legs fall from where she’d wrapped them around his waist so he can pull away entirely. When had that happened? 

“Yeah,” she agrees, pressing a hand to her face to try and catch her breath. 

He’s on his back, beside her, his breathing just as ragged as hers. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this again, but…”

“...later?” she finishes for him and he throws his head back and laughs. 

“Yeah, later.” 

“And we’ll talk about...whatever was going on with you tonight?”

Luke shrugs, sitting up. “I was being stupid. I’m over it.” 

“Yeah?” she asks, sitting up in order to fully look into his eyes. She knows he wouldn’t lie to her, but she wants to make sure this is what he really wants.” 

“I promise,” he says, like he knows exactly what she was really asking.

She smiles and then has to look anywhere but at him because if she does, they’ll never leave this bed ever again. But of course she gives in and when she does, he’s looking at her like...like…

Something in the room buzzes and they blink at each other, their little bubble broken.

“My phone’s in the studio,” Luke says and Julie reaches into her back pocket. THe number is local, but unknown.

Luke nods at her to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Julie Molina?” a crisp professional voice asks on the other end of the line. 

“Yes, speaking,” she says, reaching out to grab Luke’s hand. He squeezes back.

“This is Andi Parker at Destiny Management. We met briefly about a week ago at Eats and Beats.”

“Yes, Ms. Parker, I remember you,” she says and Luke’s eyes get wide. 

“Excellent. I apologize for calling so late, but I was just finishing up some work tonight when a live stream came through of your performance tonight, which led me to your website. Excellent brand management, I have to say. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with your band. I’m sure you’ll be fielding calls left and right over the next couple of days, but I wanted to make sure you knew how much I admire your work and I would love to set up a time for us to meet and discuss representation.” 

“Of course,” Julie says, trying to keep her voice even and cool. “We can definitely set something up for later this week.” 

“Fabulous. I’ll have my assistant reach out via email to set up a time.” 

“Great! Thanks. Have a good night, Ms. Parker.”

When the call goes dead, Julie lets out a shriek that’s only half the normal volume she’s capable of, her voice nearly gone after their set tonight. 

“Come on, let’s go tell the boys,” Luke says, grabbing her hand, pulling her with him, his eyes sparkling at her as they race down the stairs toward their best friends to share the good news.

It’s happening. Everything they’ve dreamed about for the last two months, their musical ambitions out loud for the world to hear and the quieter, but no less important, feelings that have just spilled over into something more tonight. 

She’s going out of her mind, but no matter what happens, they’re going to be standing tall at the end of this, together.

  
  



End file.
